Among the various prior art devices for use for massaging purposes in the massaging apparatus disclosed in Wong, U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,466 which shows a plurality of glass or plastic balls, or beads arranged in rows on a panel-like double-walled support. The support has apertures through which the balls or beads project to provide a massaging surface and may be disposed, for example, on the back of a seat in an automobile to provide a massaging action to the driver resting against it. The massaging device disclosed by Wong is relatively expensive and is based on the use of relatively small and rigid balls or beads. Although the balls are rotatable in their sockets, they are not adapted to move relative to the support, thus limiting the massaging action that is obtainable.
Lohati et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,625 shows a series of balls or beads tethered to a support such as a glove or a backrest. The balls are of plastic, wood, metal, or a material such as hard rubber. The balls are rigid and relatively small, and provide a limited massaging action particularly for someone using the device as a backrest.
Henry, U.S. Pat. No. 3,205,887 shows a massaging device in the form of a bed having a plurality of balls of sponge rubber or the like mounted in rows transversely of the bed on arms that are mounted for movement relative to the bed. The device is an active massager and is relatively complex and expensive and is not suitable for use, for example, as a cushion or backrest in a chair or seat.
Takahashi, U.S. Pat. No. 4,233,966 discloses a massage device that comprises a board on which a number of balls are adapted to be arranged in different patterns for different massaging effects. The device is designed to simulate the effects of a finger-pressure massage in areas of the body where the user cannot normally apply finger pressure, such as on the back.
Forster, U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,342 relates to a massage device that may be a backrest for a seat or a mattress having a plurality of fingers or ridges that are adapted to be deflected by the user leaning against or laying on the device. The fingers can be contoured to fit a person's back and are inclined to deflect longitudinally of the device to extend the spine. The device is not portable and is not adapted for use in preexisting or conventional seats.
Collins, U.S. Pat. No. 2,290,407 shows a massaging device in which the massaging elements are inflated rubber balls maintained in position by a flexible rubber covering.
The above mentioned devices are only some of the many different types of massaging devices that exist in the prior art. Despite the rather extensive development devoted in the past to massaging devices, there is no device that is simple, inexpensive, readily usable in a chair or vehicle seat, or on another support such as a backrest, and against which the user can lean or lay that will provide a suitable massaging action and against which the user can move either vertically or horizontally to vary and enhance the massaging effect.